Is Quantum Physics Necessary for the Account of Consciousness? The Lecture of Stuart Hameroff


Published on Oct 19, 2016

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This lecture was organized by support of Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies, Russian House and Polytech Museum of Moscow. The nature of consciousness, the mechanism by which it occurs in the brain and its place in the universe are unknown. In the mid 1990’s Sir Roger Penrose and I suggested that consciousness depends on biologically ‘orchestrated’ coherent quantum processes in collections of microtubules within brain neurons, that these quantum processes correlate with, and regulate, neuronal activity, and that the continuous Schrodinger evolution of each such process terminates in accordance with the specific Diosi-Penrose (‘DP’) scheme of objective reduction (‘OR’) of the quantum state. ‘Orchestrated’ OR activity (‘Orch OR’) is taken to result in moments of full conscious awareness and/or choice. The DP form of OR is related to the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and space-time geometry, so Orch OR suggests a connection between brain biomolecular processes and the basic structure of the universe. I will review Orch OR in light of criticisms, presenting experimental evidence for 1) hierarchical microtubule quantum resonances (terahertz, gigahertz, megahertz, kilohertz), and 2) anesthetics preventing consciousness through quantum actions on microtubules. Further novel Orch OR suggestions include 1) topological quantum bits (‘qubits’) intrinsic to microtubule geometry, 2) interference ‘beat frequencies’ of fast (e.g. megahertz) microtubule vibrations producing slower electro-encephalographic (EEG) correlates of consciousness, 3) mental state alterations caused by brain stimulation with megahertz mechanical vibrations (ultrasound), and 4) OR-based primitive feelings prompting life’s origin and evolution. Orch OR is rigorous, consistent with neuronal-level approaches and better supported experimentally than other theories of consciousness. Reference: Hameroff & Penrose (2014) Phys. Life Rev., 11(1):39-78 Визит Стюарта Хамероффа в Москву был организован нашим Центром. Лекция стала возможной благодаря поддержке политехнического музея в лице Ольги Вад и Russian House в лице Татьяны Гинзбург. Природа сознания, механизм посредством которого оно появляется в мозге и его место во Вселенной неизвестны. В середине 1990х годов сэр Роджер Пенроуз, и я выдвинули предположение, что сознание зависит от биологически «оркестирруемых» когерентных квантовых процессов в микротрубочках нейронов, что эти квантовые процессы коррелируют с нейронной активностью и регулируют ее, что непрерывное шредингеровское развитие каждого такого процесса завершается в соответствии со специальной схемой объективной редукции (ОР) квантового состояния Диози-Пенроуза (ДП). Считается, что «Оркестрируемая» ОР активность возникает в моменты полной сознательной осведомленности и/или выбора. ДП форма ОР связана с фундаментальными основами квантовой механики и пространственно-временной геометрии, поэтому «оркестрируемая» ОР предполагает связь между мозговыми биомолекулярными процессами и фундаментальной структурой Вселенной. Я представлю обзор «оркестрируемой» ОР в свете критики, представляя экспериментальные свидетельства в пользу 1) иерархических квантовых резонансов в микротрубочках (терагерц, гигагерц, мегагерц, килогерц) и 2) анестетиков, препятствующих появлению сознания посредством квантовых воздействий на микротрубочки. Дальнейший рассказ об «оркестрируемой» ОР включает 1) топологические квантовые биты («квабиты») присущие геометрии микротрубочек, 2) вмешательство «частоты биений» быстрых (например, мегагерц) колебаний микротрубочек, производящих замедленные электро-энцелографические корреляты (ЭЭГ) сознания, 3) изменения ментального состояния, вызванные стимуляцией мозга мегагерцовыми механическими колебаниями (ультразвуком) и 4) примитивные ощущения, фундированные ОР, побуждающие к появлению и эволюции жизни. «Оркестрируемая» ОР является полноценной теорией, совместимой с методами нейронного уровня и лучше поддерживается экспериментально, чем другие теории сознания.

 

Is Mind Control Real?


China is advancing in technology very rapidly. They have succeeded in connecting a human brain to the brain of a rat. This connection is then able to send an instruction to the brain of the rat which compels it to respond in a directed movement. To create a “rat cyborg” as the scientists call them, researchers used an EEG cap on a human to detect instructions for movement. This can be done wirelessly through Bluetooth and the rats would follow directions.

This method is based upon the same elements of biofeedback where you can raise and lower your body temperature for example when connected to a computer that allows you to see how to create such responses. One would suppose that an evil government could, by law, implant chips into humans at birth and override any tendency to rebel. Perhaps we are getting closer to the SiFi flick – “The MATRIX.”

UPDATE – The World in 50 Years – E3 – Global Community


Published on Dec 18, 2015

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Episode III “The Global Community” Episode 3 looks at geopolitical developments 50 years from now. Climate concerns, energy issues, peace and the race for weapons technology will dominate international headlines. We’ll take a scientific look at these topics and add a close-up examine the future of nanotechnology and solar energy, all of which will provide the basis of the dramatic scenes. Two researchers just starting out on their career paths (the protagonists) are both working together in a cramped space station to revolutionize the efficiency of solar cells. Their laboratory is reachable from Earth via a sort of “space elevator”. The elevator’s cables receive their enormous strength and necessary lightness from tiny carbon, tube-like nano-particles. It may sound like science fiction, but researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are already busy at work on it. The technical challenges of the project were laid out during a large conference in 1999, and it was deemed to be realizable. Since then physicists have been working intensely on this new material. The so-called “nano tubes” are intended to make the elevator cable 1000 times stronger than steel. Specialists in space travel have already produced working models and 3-D simulations to test the behavior of this type of capsule in space. An accident of sorts in their laboratory leads the two researchers to the discovery of a substance, which turns out to be unusually effective in turning sunlight into electricity. At the same time, a serious conflict ignites between China and the USA in the face of dwindling energy reserves. Both powers are placing dibs on a sizable load of oil from Central Asia, which is at sea on a tanker. While these two giants set their military machinery in motion, the two scientists, one Chinese and one American and both of them friends, place their own safety at risk to crack the chemical code of their coincidental discovery. They are aware that this formula could lead the way out of the energy crisis and prevent the world war brewing below them. The dramatic sequences are built upon very promising research inroads into solar technology. Since the silicon panels that have been used up until now are too expensive to provide an effective energy supply, scientists have been working on a new, revolutionary method. A fluid made of nano-particles could provide the key. This fluid costs only a fraction of what the silicon cells cost and could be sprayed onto any surface. But at the present, it is still not very productive. Only 15 percent of the sunlight striking such coated surfaces is transformed into usable energy. According to scientific and economic predictions, the Earth’s final oil reserves will be nearly exhausted in the year 2057, and must by then be replaced by alternative energy sources. On a political level, leading experts predict that both China and the USA will gain more might. Episode III puts these variables up for debate while setting them in ecological and demographic projections for the mid 21st century.

Mars Martian Mega Rover | Full Documentary


Published on Jul 8, 2017

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With rare access inside NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, witness the dramatic story behind the Mars Science Laboratory–the Curiosity rover–and the long struggle to get NASA’s most complex robot yet from the drawing board to the launch pad and safely to Mars.

Wow! Blue Origin Launches Capsule and Rocket, Lands Both Again | Video


Published on Jun 19, 2016

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On June 19, 2016, the “New Shepard” rocket successfully launched three student payloads into suborbital space. The rocket and capsule landed a few minutes after separation. This was the 4th flight of the same hardware, proving its re-usability once again. — Full Story on the flight: https://www.space.com/33214-blue-orig…

Bell’s Theorem: The Quantum Venn Diagram Paradox


Published on Sep 13, 2017

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Featuring 3Blue1Brown Watch the 2nd video on 3Blue1Brown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzRCD… Support MinutePhysics on Patreon! http://www.patreon.com/minutephysics Link to Patreon Supporters: http://www.minutephysics.com/supporters/ This video is about Bell’s Theorem, one of the most fascinating results in 20th century physics. Even though Albert Einstein (together with collaborators in the EPR Paradox paper) wanted to show that quantum mechanics must be incomplete because it was nonlocal (he didn’t like “spooky action at a distance”), John Bell managed to prove that any local real hidden variable theory would have to satisfy certain simple statistical properties that quantum mechanical experiments (and the theory that describes them) violate. Since then, GHZ and others have managed to extend the theoretical work, and Alain Aspect performed the first Bell test experiment in the late 1980s. Thanks to Vince Rubinetti for the music: https://soundcloud.com/vincerubinetti… And thanks to Evan Miyazono, Aatish Bhatia, and Jasper Palfree for discussions and camaraderie during some of the inception of this video. REFERENCES: John Bell’s Original Paper: http://inspirehep.net/record/31657/fi… Quantum Theory and Reality: https://www.scientificamerican.com/me… “What Bell Did” By Tim Maudlin: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1408.1826 Bell’s Theorem on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27… 2015 experimental confirmation that QM violates Bell’s theorem: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.05949.pdf https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract… Bell’s Theorem without Inequalities (GHZ): http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.16243 Kochen-Specker Theorem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochen–… MinutePhysics is on twitter – @minutephysics And facebook – http://facebook.com/minutephysics And Google+ (does anyone use this any more?) – http://bit.ly/qzEwc6 Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics — all in a minute!

Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser Experiment Explained


Published on Jan 31, 2014

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To help support this ministry click here: http://www.patreon.com/inspiringphilo… This video attempts to simplify the delayed choice quantum eraser experiment and share the shocking implications. i would also like to thank Physicists Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner for reviewing this video. I did not mention them in the video because they didn’t get back to me until the after the video was complete and uploaded. References: http://www.bottomlayer.com/bottom/bas… http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0610241 http://www.bottomlayer.com/bottom/kim… http://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/9903047… http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.4834 http://www.bottomlayer.com/

Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser Explained


Published on Nov 14, 2014

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Did Aliens Just Visit Us?


A number of people have asked what is my opinion of Avi Loeb’s theory that we were just visited by an alien probe. He basically noted strange facts about the probe he called ‘Oumuamua. ʻOumuamua was the first interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system. Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, ‘Oumuamua was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, on October 19th, 2017, 40 days after it passed its closest point to the sun.

Loeb has explained that we can calculate at what rate of speed a solar system will eject rocks during its history. When you look at all the stars in the vicinity of our sun, we discover that they move relative to our sun. In other words, our sun moves relative to their systems around us with respect to speed. However, perhaps one in five hundred stars move as slow as ‘Oumuamua. Therefore, the speed of the object is significantly different and much slower. Most rocks would move roughly at the same speed of the star from which they were ejected. If this object came from another star, that star would have to be very special and moving at an incredibly slow pace.

Then there was the matter of its brightness. It would spin every eight hours, and its brightness changed by at least a factor of ten. The fact that its brightness varies by a factor of ten as it spins means that it is at least ten times longer than its width. It is also possible that the shape is more of a pancake like geometry. The most unusual fact about this object is that when it deviates from an orbit it becomes shaped purely by the gravitational force of the sun. There is also no cometary tail here and there is a deviation from the expected orbit which results in this potential classification to be some sort of probe.

There are some who believe that we are alone in the vast universe with billions of planets. The likelihood of that I find not very credible for why would God create the universe for no reason. Also, human reasoning has been highly questionable. They use to torture and execute people for simply saying the Earth was round and not flat. The story of Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) is rarely told. I believe he is a figure from the past that is in need of rescue because he basically is perhaps the first person to envision a dynamic universe building upon Copernicus’ work. His essential theory saw the universe with many worlds and suns basically as we accept today. He gave his life for that proposition. You can imagine that those who believed God created the world were not about to accept the idea that there were multiple solar systems when they refused to accept that the planets revolved around the sun. Despite the fact that the Bible made no statement that the Earth was the center of the planetary system or that the Earth was flat, that reasoning resulted in the punishment for those who dared to disagree.

On February 17th, 1600, Bruno was taken to the Camo de’ Fior. His tongue was gaged so they would not have to listen to his screams of pain when he was burned alive. The importance of Giordano Bruno’s books was established by being placed on the forbidden list on August 7th, 1603. When Galileo (1564-1642) was confronted for his theory that agreed with Bruno, he had to recant or be burned alive at the stake.

At the risk of being burned at the stake alive, I keep an open mind.

Einstein’s Field Equations of General Relativity Explained